Northern Trust Corp Reduces Holdings in Barrett Business Services, Inc. $BBSI

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp reduced its stake in Barrett Business Services, Inc. by 2.5%, selling 9,945 shares and holding 383,322 shares valued at approximately $15.77 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Barrett Business Services reported a 10% revenue increase year-over-year, with an EPS of $0.70 for the latest quarter, surpassing analyst expectations.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share, reflecting a 0.7% dividend yield, with the ex-dividend date set for August 22nd.

Northern Trust Corp lowered its stake in shares of Barrett Business Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSI - Free Report) by 2.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 383,322 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 9,945 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.49% of Barrett Business Services worth $15,774,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BBSI. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Barrett Business Services in the 1st quarter valued at about $12,999,000. Chatham Capital Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 104.0% in the first quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc. now owns 58,055 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,389,000 after purchasing an additional 29,600 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 59.0% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 71,762 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,117,000 after purchasing an additional 26,637 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in shares of Barrett Business Services by 80.1% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 50,122 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,063,000 after purchasing an additional 22,291 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Barrett Business Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $913,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.76% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BBSI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Barrett Business Services from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 30th. Barrington Research upped their price objective on Barrett Business Services from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $47.00.

Barrett Business Services Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ BBSI traded down $1.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $48.14. The company had a trading volume of 123,429 shares, compared to its average volume of 157,646. The company has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of 23.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 1.25. Barrett Business Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $34.43 and a 1-year high of $49.65. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $45.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.50.

Barrett Business Services (NASDAQ:BBSI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The business services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $307.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $299.95 million. Barrett Business Services had a return on equity of 24.59% and a net margin of 4.49%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.62 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Barrett Business Services, Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

Barrett Business Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Friday, August 22nd were issued a $0.08 dividend. This represents a $0.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 22nd. Barrett Business Services's dividend payout ratio is 15.76%.

Insider Transactions at Barrett Business Services

In related news, Director Thomas J. Carley sold 12,646 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.62, for a total value of $602,202.52. Following the transaction, the director owned 94,692 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,509,233.04. This represents a 11.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Anthony Meeker sold 7,380 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.14, for a total value of $310,993.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 55,504 shares in the company, valued at $2,338,938.56. This trade represents a 11.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 116,417 shares of company stock valued at $5,496,361 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

About Barrett Business Services

Barrett Business Services, Inc provides business management solutions for small and mid-sized companies in the United States. The company develops a management platform that integrates a knowledge-based approach from the management consulting industry with tools from the human resource outsourcing industry.